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The Disease (episode)
Harry Kim breaks Starfleet regulations when he falls in love with an alien woman. Summary Teaser Onboard a very long starship made up of a series of segments, a door opens. Harry Kim stumbles through the door, locked passionately in the arms of an unknown alien woman. They stumble into a chair where the woman removes his combadge and tosses it aside. They kiss passionately and the woman's skin glows briefly. Kim's protests stop as they move to the bed. The woman lifts Kim's shirt, and both of their skins glow. Act One It turns out that the has stopped to help repair an alien ship's warp drive. The aliens are very xenophobic and often avoid alien encounters, they call themselves the Varro. In the Varro ship's central control, Captain Kathryn Janeway requests access to their warp assembly. At first she is not allowed access, the Varro are wary of outsiders. She eventually gains permission by showing their leader the progress they've made on the Antimatter injectors. Janeway tells the Varro leader, Jippeq, how she believes their two ships are very similar. Both have long journeys ahead of them, and have had some bad experiences in the Delta Quadrant. Despite the fact that the Varro ignored Voyager's initial hails, their crews have made considerable progress together. Four hundred years ago, the Varro began with a small starship and crew, and grew into a generational ship carrying hundreds. Janeway says this could be the future of Voyager. Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris enter and inform the captain that the antimatter transfer is ready. Janeway stated earlier that this would be the final step in the repairs on the Varro ship. Additionally, Chakotay reports that Voyager is ready for the transfer. The Captain shows Jippeq how to cross his fingers for luck as the transfer begins. Meanwhile, in the Varro woman's cabin, Kim is staring out of the viewport thoughtfully. The woman, Derran Tal, awakes and greets him. Kim is obviously nervous; he has ignored many Starfleet Regulations by becoming intimate with an alien. Furthermore, he has directly disobeyed Janeway's order to refrain from interaction with the Varro. Suddenly, the warp engines can be heard activating, they are late, and the transfer has already begun. Kim frantically tries to dress himself, first with Tal's uniform and then his own. Back in the ship's central control, Paris and Torres are monitoring the transfer. Ensign Kim enters and claims he was checking the manifold in Section 22. Tal enters the room as the ship begins to jolt. Jippeq observes that the warp reaction is destabilizing. When no one can identify the problem, Janeway orders the transfer to be aborted. Torres informs the Captain that there are microfractures on the ship's hull. It is decided that it is necessary to check each segment of the generational ship for microfractures, even though it could take days. Later on Voyager Paris and Kim have just returned; they discuss their impressions of the Varro. Paris implies that Kim's 'first contact' has gone well. Kim repeats his story about plasma conduits, but Paris sees through his story. Once he reaches his quarters Kim opens a comm channel to the Varro ship, Tal's cabin. She has been waiting for his call. They decide that they want to see each other again, though they agree that they are surprised by the differences between their species' mating techniques. Back on the bridge, Tuvok detects the transmission and reports it to Chakotay, who orders him to trace its destination. Meanwhile, Kim and Tal are having a romantic conversation, unaware of the danger of being discovered. When Paris realises that the transmission is probably from Kim, he destabilises the trace while claiming he was searching for the transmission. He says it was probably just a glitch in the comm system. Later on, in the cargo bay, Chakotay briefs the crew on their plans and it is decided they will be split into pairs. In the back, Paris informs Kim that his transmission was detected last night. Seven of Nine tells Ensign Kim that they have been paired up, and will be surveying the generational ship from astrometrics. Once they arrive, they begin to work when Kim asks Seven of her thoughts on love. She compares it to a disease, "a series of biochemical responses that trigger an emotional cascade." Suddenly, Kim's skin glows as it did before; when he begins to experience discomfort, Seven takes him to sickbay. Act Two In sickbay, The Doctor interrogates him on his experiences aboard the Varro ship. When The Doctor decides to inform the captain, Kim resolves to tell the truth. He informs the Doctor of his 'encounter.' Protocol dictates full bioscans of both parties, and the captain must be informed. In Janeway's ready room, she expresses her disappointment in Kim, and he demonstrates that he is indeed aware of the regulations by reciting the appropriate ones at this moment. She informs him that she is required to tell Jippeq, and she fears this will strain their trust too much. Kim claims he has developed true feelings for Tal; however Janeway still enters a full reprimand into his file and orders him to break off the relationship. Neelix emerges from a turbolift and wants to review security risks with Tuvok. He has been noticing some supplies disappearing from the mess hall, only unimportant items such as emergency rations. After some investigation, Neelix discovered that there had been unauthorized access of environmental controls. Life support was activated in a normally uninhabited Jefferies tube. Neelix and Tuvok go to the affected area to investigate. They discover evidence of an intruder, including a Varro scanning device. When they force a hatch open they discover a Varro stowaway. Back in Tal's quarters, she is viewing a distant pulsar field. When Kim enters, he asks about what she is watching. She says she is dreaming about going there, she would like to, but the ship won't. It is too close to an inhabited planet, the Varro avoid other species at all costs. Tal expresses the desire to explore, instead of flee from any other ship. She claims this will change. Kim then informs her of the events on Voyager, she is surprised by her effect on him. She says it shouldn't have happened, it is called "Olan'vora, the Shared Heart," a lasting biological connection between two Varro. The process can be reversed, but they would have to separate themselves from each other. Before he leaves, he changes his mind and returns to kiss Tal. In the conference room, Chakotay is interrogating the intruder along with Tuvok. Apparently the Varro was able to circumvent Voyager's systems and enter through a docking port. He says he came aboard to get away from the Varro generation ship. It turns out there is a movement among the Varro to leave the ship, branch out and meet new species or settle down on a planet. They feel like prisoners on board, willing to take violent action to escape. The intruder becomes suspicious that Tuvok and Chakotay are attempting to gather information on the movement, though in reality they haven't informed the Varro of the intruder yet. Chakotay orders the intruder to the brig, and prepares to contact the Varro authorities. Before he is removed, the intruder informs Chakotay that there are hundreds more who share his views. Act Three In a corridor Janeway is attempting to salvage relations with Jippeq after telling him of the incident between Kim and Tal. They enter main engineering where Torres and Seven are working. Torres has discovered microfractures in Voyager's hull as well. After a closer look the problem was identified: Seven discovered silicon-based parasites which feed on duranium. Furthermore, the parasites are synthetic and probably created by a Varro. In her quarters, Tal looks over the plans for the parasites, then she is contacted by Kim. Suddenly, she is transported out of her cabin. She rematerializes in a shuttlecraft with Kim inside. He says he is off duty, and wanted some time with her. He has broken additional protocols. They monitor a Class 3 nebula; Tal is very excited by a break from the isolationist routine aboard the generational ship. Kim tells Tal of his distress; he feels very pressured to be a model officer, but he can't deny the feelings he has for her. She responds by envying his freedom and the nobility of Voyager's mission. Their moment is halted by a hail from Tuvok on the Delta Flyer. Tal is wanted by the Varro authorities for sabotage. Act Four In Voyager's conference room, Jippeq orders Tal to confess and deactivate the parasites. She reaffirms Kim's innocence and repeats the intruder's argument of a prison-like feeling. They did not release the parasites to destroy the ship, only to split it up so that each segment could choose its destination and not be forced to avoid contact. Captain Janeway attempts to mediate by arguing that there could be casualties and they must try to avoid that. Tal agrees to slow down the parasites to facilitate evacuation. Janeway and Kim are left alone and discuss his relationship and actions. The Doctor's report revealed that there is indeed a chemical link that might have impaired Kim's judgment. She orders him to report to sickbay and be confined there, when she walks to the bridge he follows her and he yells a refusal for treatment. They then move to her ready room, where she demands an explanation. He claims his actions where caused by love, not chemicals. He tries to make his case for why he shouldn't be forced to stop, but Janeway tells him that love must sometimes be lost, she mentions her experiences with Mark Johnson. ( ) Kim asks if she would have taken a hypospray to end her pain over the end of her relationship. Before she can answer, the ship jolts, red alert is initiated, and Chakotay calls the captain to the bridge. The Varro ship is experiencing structural breaches, Janeway orders Kim to his station. On the viewscreen portions of the ship's structure are exploding and being blown away. Each explosion causes collateral damage to Voyager. Paris reports that he is unable to release the docking clamps. Act Five Tuvok informs the Captain that the superstructure will collapse in less than three minutes. Jippeq reports that the parasites were slowed with a polaron surge, but junctions are still destabilizing. Tal says they still need at least two minutes to evacuate the affected areas. Meanwhile, Paris has regained docking clamp control. Kim proposes the plan to extend Voyager's structural integrity field around the Varro ship to buy some time. However, this would put Voyager in extreme danger. Despite the risk, Janeway enacts Kim's plan and relays it to Torres in engineering. On board the Varro ship, Tal uses this action as evidence that some aliens are not hostile. After the junctions are evacuated Jippeq attempts to initiate another poloron burst, but Tal makes him accept the generation ship's fate and contact Voyager to retract their structural integrity field. The Varro ship's structure finally completely collapses and all of the individual segments launch. On board the dissident group's segment Kim enters Tal's cabin. She has decided to go to a binary star system and explore. Kim tells her to think of him next time she runs across a Class 3 nebula. Later in sickbay, The Doctor tries to get Kim to take medication, but he wants to allow the effects to run their course. The captain agrees with Kim, and allows him to let himself suffer. Janeway wonders if her reaction to Kim's relationship would differ if it was another crewman, such as Paris. She wouldn't have been as surprised, she admits that she has always felt more protective of him than the others. In the mess hall late at night, Neelix closes up and Kim is the only one remaining. As Neelix leaves, Seven of Nine enters to speak to Kim. She thanks him for completing some of her work, he says it was to distract himself. She observes that Human love is a weakness, but it can sometimes be a strength, she admits that love is not a disease. She hopes that he will "get well soon." Log Entries *"Captain's log, supplemental. After two weeks, we're close to repairing the Varro's warp drive. Then there's the Varro crew – I'm starting to think they'd rather give up warp travel than accept help from strangers." *"Captain's log, supplemental. Most of the Varro have opted to stay together, traveling in separate ships. But the dissident group has been granted permission to break away and find their own path. We wish them luck." Memorable Quotes "I have served on this ship for five years and said, 'yes, ma'am' to every one of your orders. But not this time." : - Harry Kim to Captain Janeway "I'm violating about half a dozen regulations by just being in this room. And what we did earlier... ''(ironic chuckle) I don't know if Starfleet even has a regulation for that." : - '''Harry Kim' "Going after impossible women: a hologram, an ex-Borg, the wrong twin, and now a girl from a xenophobic species!" : - Tom Paris, to Harry Kim "I assumed that romantic love was a Human weakness, but clearly it can also be a source of strength. Perhaps my analogy was flawed. Love is not a disease. Get well soon." : - Seven of Nine "A little taste of home in the Delta Quadrant? Think about it. Springtime on the shores of Lake Yuron." "I require a desk and a bed, nothing more." : - Tom Paris and Tuvok "I give up." "After only two minutes? Tuvok, how do you do it?" "I wait until his own illogic overwhelms him." : - Tom Paris, Chakotay, and Tuvok, after Tom loses an argument "Last night, I had an... encounter with one of the Varro." "Encounter?" "A... personal encounter." "Specifically?" "Sex. We had sex." "You had intimate contact with an alien species without medical clearance?" "It was in the heat of the moment." : - Harry Kim and The Doctor "Sometimes I think everyone on this ship has been possessed by alien hormones..." : - The Doctor "Have you ever been in love, Captain?" "Your point?" "Did your skin ever flush when you were near another person? Did your stomach ever feel like someone hollowed it out with a knife when you were apart? Did your throat ever swell when you realized it was over? Seven of Nine, Seven of Nine told me love's like a disease! Well, maybe it is pheromones, endorphins, chemicals in our blood, changing our responses, physical discomfort but any way you look at it, it's still love." : - Harry Kim and Captain Janeway Background Information * Harry Kim receives a formal reprimand on his Starfleet record. Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 5.9, . *As part of the VOY Season 5 DVD collection. Links and References Guest stars *Musetta Vander as Derran Tal *Charles Rocket as Jippeq *Christopher Liam Moore as a Varro stowaway Uncredited co-star *Jerry Starkand as a Varro #1 *James Do Pearson as a Varro #2 References antimatter injector; bioscan; Borg; cerebral cortex; Chopin; class 3 nebula; Delta Flyer; duranium; endorphin; environmental control; gastroenteritis; Interspecies Protocol; Lake Yuron; love; Natori system; olan'vora; plasma conduit; plasma coupling; plasma relay; polaron; pulsar; security code; silicon; silicon-based lifeform; Starfleet Academy; Starfleet Handbook on Personal Relationships; structural integrity field; subspace vacuole; Varro; Varro generational ship; Velocity; Vulcan (planet); warp assembly; warp injector |next= }} Disease,The de:Das Generationenschiff es:The Disease nl:The Disease fr:The Disease